Hi everyone.
In March, I purchased an engagement ring setting straight out of the case at a well-known and respected jeweler here in St. Louis, Missouri. I purchased an engagement ring from them in March. It was straight out of the case and they sized it for me after setting the center diamond in it. (We had purchased the center stone elsewhere.)
I had expressed my hesitation about the setting, as I feared the width of the setting might eclipse the center stone, even though it was a 1.78 ct. center stone. They reassured me they had set stones as small as .75 in the center, and their clients were very pleased. They sized it at the same time they set the stone.
When I received it a week or so later, I disliked it almost immediately. For one, the setting DID eclipse the ring. It diminished the center stone, which is exactly what I didn''t want. Plus, on the underside of the ring, the platinum was a little wavy, like it wasn''t well-finished off. Not to mention the tiny little black marks in the inside of the platinum. And the visible line that showed where it had been sized.
Now, in their defense, they have a policy (which they were happy to report after the fact) that there are no returns or exchanged on special orders or sized rings. So I guess I took my chances. They did offer to buff the underside of the ring, but implied that I may have lied about the ring because I was unhappy. I would never do such a thing.
What they should have done was set the center stone and made sure I liked it before sizing it. When I went back to them and told them, "I really don''t like this" they got very snotty. Informed me there was nothing to be done.
I didn''t want a refund. All I wanted was an exchange. Something. I would have even exchanged for something less than what I originally got. I just wanted to be HAPPY. They refused to do ANYTHING to help me out.
I''ve gone to other jewelers to make sure I wasn''t being crazy or hysterical. I tried not to trash the jeweler, and in fact, refused to give their name because I wanted to be fair. All of them said they would have worked with an unhappy customer, for sure. That the cost of me wearing a ring I hated and trashing their reputation around town wasn''t worth the cost of all the lost business. As one jeweler said to me, "The mark of a fine jeweler is not what happens when things go right .... it''s what happens when things go wrong."
While they stuck by their policy, I''m left with a ring I dislike, displaying a bit of shoddy workmanship, and a bad taste in my mouth for this jeweler.
In the end, they''re the ones who will lose out. No store should be so inflexible that a client who doled out $4300 for a setting should get kicked to the curb. (I have a feeling I got screwed on the price of the setting, but that was my own stupidity and no one else''s. Didn''t know about PS until after.
) I will write them a strong letter and will also be sure to post on as many bridal bulletin boards as I can about these guys. My fiance suggested standing in front of their store, on public property, warning people about the policies they have, and explaining my story. It''s guerilla consumer activism, but I''m sure it would take an hours'' worth of lost business before I got what I wanted.
I can understand their view to a certain point. For sure. (Although when I called them back a week after I got the ring, their own customer service manager claimed she didn''t even know what the policy was if someone was unsatisfied.) It''s not like it was some mall store which often lives to rip people off.
Am I crazy? Any suggestions? It''s ok to be honest, guys. I''m just bummed about wearing a ring I really don''t like at all. Many of the jewelers who I went to said, "Yep, you got screwed, girl. Sorry."
-Alison
In March, I purchased an engagement ring setting straight out of the case at a well-known and respected jeweler here in St. Louis, Missouri. I purchased an engagement ring from them in March. It was straight out of the case and they sized it for me after setting the center diamond in it. (We had purchased the center stone elsewhere.)
I had expressed my hesitation about the setting, as I feared the width of the setting might eclipse the center stone, even though it was a 1.78 ct. center stone. They reassured me they had set stones as small as .75 in the center, and their clients were very pleased. They sized it at the same time they set the stone.
When I received it a week or so later, I disliked it almost immediately. For one, the setting DID eclipse the ring. It diminished the center stone, which is exactly what I didn''t want. Plus, on the underside of the ring, the platinum was a little wavy, like it wasn''t well-finished off. Not to mention the tiny little black marks in the inside of the platinum. And the visible line that showed where it had been sized.
Now, in their defense, they have a policy (which they were happy to report after the fact) that there are no returns or exchanged on special orders or sized rings. So I guess I took my chances. They did offer to buff the underside of the ring, but implied that I may have lied about the ring because I was unhappy. I would never do such a thing.
What they should have done was set the center stone and made sure I liked it before sizing it. When I went back to them and told them, "I really don''t like this" they got very snotty. Informed me there was nothing to be done.
I didn''t want a refund. All I wanted was an exchange. Something. I would have even exchanged for something less than what I originally got. I just wanted to be HAPPY. They refused to do ANYTHING to help me out.
I''ve gone to other jewelers to make sure I wasn''t being crazy or hysterical. I tried not to trash the jeweler, and in fact, refused to give their name because I wanted to be fair. All of them said they would have worked with an unhappy customer, for sure. That the cost of me wearing a ring I hated and trashing their reputation around town wasn''t worth the cost of all the lost business. As one jeweler said to me, "The mark of a fine jeweler is not what happens when things go right .... it''s what happens when things go wrong."
While they stuck by their policy, I''m left with a ring I dislike, displaying a bit of shoddy workmanship, and a bad taste in my mouth for this jeweler.
In the end, they''re the ones who will lose out. No store should be so inflexible that a client who doled out $4300 for a setting should get kicked to the curb. (I have a feeling I got screwed on the price of the setting, but that was my own stupidity and no one else''s. Didn''t know about PS until after.
I can understand their view to a certain point. For sure. (Although when I called them back a week after I got the ring, their own customer service manager claimed she didn''t even know what the policy was if someone was unsatisfied.) It''s not like it was some mall store which often lives to rip people off.
Am I crazy? Any suggestions? It''s ok to be honest, guys. I''m just bummed about wearing a ring I really don''t like at all. Many of the jewelers who I went to said, "Yep, you got screwed, girl. Sorry."
-Alison
300x240.png)